Narthex One Newsletter – Q4 2023
Cruising into the new year…
A message from Rob Boyer, CEO
Happy 2024 to all of you!
It's been a long and occasionally frustrating process, but we are finally reaching completion at Lady of Lourdes. Major renovations in the sanctuary are complete, and we only await approval from the energy company before the property will be ready for occupancy by City of Truth. And good news — the new alarm system has effectively ended our recurring break-in issues.
Over the next two years, we will now turn our attention to the sale of assets. Blue Ridge Trinity is expected to sell on September 1. Bellicose Church at Grace Paseo has given us verbal notice of intent to leave in the spring; they have actually outgrown the church and need to move into something bigger. Providence School has expressed interest in expanding, and we will also look to sell the property. We have also given notice to Restore Church at St. James and our Catholic tenant at Mission Southside that we intend to sell the properties in the next one to two years.
We had a maintenance surprise at Cornerstone in Q3. Unexpected furnace failure resulted in a $15,000 repair, which is the only bad news to report. Otherwise, all our tenants are current, and properties are performing as expected.
High interest rates and some economic uncertainty do not appear to have impacted the church real estate market. We continue to see good buying and selling opportunities, and our pipeline of potential tenants has never been bigger. Grateful to be working in this rewarding and evolving sector. Thanks for being on the journey with us!
Spiritual impact
City Church has taken up residence at Blue Ridge Trinity. This growing church has been together for many years and is ready to take the next step into a building of their own. They will lease the building from Narthex for nine months while they raise capital for the purchase, open a new daycare in the building, and establish themselves in the community. The former tenant, King’s Family Church, is still there too. They now rent from City Church, and the two tenants work together to reduce the financial burden for both ministries by sharing expenses. It’s a joy to see how Narthex can come alongside a growing church and provide the resources and flexibility to help them expand their impact. This unique role that Narthex plays makes a difference!
